MU Juara, Arsenal Berikan Barisan Kehormatan tapi Van Persie`s...
Champion MU Given Guard of Honour by Arsenal but Van Persie`s...
Editor : Heru S Winarno
Translator : Parulian Manalu
PEMAIN Arsenal, Minggu malam, memberikan juara Liga Utama, Manchester United barisan kehormatan untuk menandai perolehan gelar yang mengesankan.
Ada spekulasi status kedua klub ´sebagai saingan, serta mantan kapten Robin van Persie hijrah ke United musim ini, Amerika, akan mendorong tuan rumah untuk menolak melanjutkan tradisi lama.
Namun setelah manajer Arsene Wenger mengungkapkan keinginan untuk melakukannya, pihaknya harus menahan perasaaan untuk ´memuji´ tim MU saat memasuki lapangan.
United memiliki kebanggaan bermain di akhir musim ini, meskipun dibayangi ketidakpastian masa depan Wayne Rooney dan suasana kembalinya performa Van Persie dapat membuat kedua belah pihak saling meyakini.
Arsenal, bagaimanapun, putus asa untuk menang dan harus menang atau terpaksa menyerahkan kemungkinan kesempatan terbesar untuk mencapai empat besar dan lolos ke Liga Champions musim depan, seperti dilansir Mail Online.
Fans di The Emirates sebagian besar menghormati barisan kehormatan, meskipun ada juga beberapa ejekan, sebagian besar yang tampaknya ditujukan pada mantan striker Van Persie.
Namun pemain asal Belanda ini membungkam setelah ia mencetak gol dari kotak penalti bagi timnya sesaat sebelum turun minum, setelah Theo Walcott memberi peluang bagi Arsenal untuk memimpin skor pada menit kedua.
ARSENAL´S players, Sunday night, gave Premier League champions Manchester United a guard of honour to mark their impressive title victory.
There had been speculation the two clubs´ status as rivals, as well as former captain Robin van Persie´s summer transfer to United, would encourage the home side to resist continuing the long-standing tradition.
But after manager Arsene Wenger had revealed a desire to do so, his side produced the painful guard of honour and applauded champions United onto the pitch for today´s match.
United have little beyond pride to play for for the rest of the season, although the uncertainty surrounding Wayne Rooney´s future and the atmosphere around Van Persie´s return may make those two believe otherwise.
Arsenal, however, will be desperate to win and must do so to give themselves the greatest possible chance of reaching the top four and qualifying for next season´s Champions League.
Fans at The Emirates were largely respectful of the guard of honour, though there were also some boos, most of which appeared to be aimed at former striker Van Persie.
The Dutchman however, silenced the Arsenal faithful after he won and converted a penalty for his side shortly before the interval, after Theo Walcott gave them a second-minute lead from what appeared to be an offside tradition.